Greece and Austerity Policies: Where Next for its Economy and Society? A conference from the WEA20th October to 21st December 2014

An Interpretation of the current Crisis in Greece and the Need of a radically different Perspective

Please cite the paper as:&lquo;George Liodakis, (2014), An Interpretation of the current Crisis in Greece and the Need of a radically different Perspective, World Economics Association (WEA) Conferences, No. 2 2014, Greece and Austerity Policies: Where Next for its Economy and Society?, 20th October to 21st December 2014&rquo;

Abstract

Based on a Marxist methodology, this paper argues that the current crisis in Greece, part and parcel of the exacerbated global crisis of capitalism, is due to an over- accumulation of capital and is necessarily manifested as a more general socio- ecological crisis. This dramatically exacerbated crisis threatens, not only the foundations of global capitalism, but human civilization as a whole. After a brief anatomy of this crisis, we focus on the particular conditions of Greece and examine the particularly catastrophic implications of the crisis insofar as it disrupts the Greek economy, increases social immiseration, and leads to ecological degradation. As argued, this crisis can be tackled neither with the currently dominant neoliberal policies, nor with the implementation of Keynesian recipes on a national or global level. Yet, the same mode of social organization and the same neoliberal policies (market liberalization, privatizations, fiscal austerity, wage reductions, and competitiveness) that led to the crisis and its exacerbation continue to this day, in vain, to be offered as a cure for the crisis. An attempt is made to explain this persistence of dominant policies, while it is pointed out that overcoming of crisis and ensuring the conditions for a socially and ecologically sustainable development require a fundamental transformation and reorganization of society.

1 response

Whatever the remedies you suggest, there’s no question that the neo-liberal ideology has been a disaster for most peoples, with the exception of a thin stratum of super-rich tycoons, who can survive any crisis.